A group of freedom loving Seychellois dedicated to get freedom for all of the people of Seychelles.
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Welcome to the 1st Edition of our Tourism News for 2013.

We must all rejoice at the visitor arrival figures for the year 2012.
Yes we all rallied as an industry, as a people and as a country and we
can say that we have delivered for Seychelles. The success in visitor
arrival numbers has reopened the debate about the yield from tourism.
This has been an ongoing point of concern and we have heard the forceful
explanations by Alain St.Ange, the Minister responsible for Tourism and
Culture making clear that the hotel rates are pitched by the private
sector and that this remains a matter of competition, not amongst hotels
in Seychelles, but with hotels of the region.

This is a fact and we accept that we pitch our rates based on market
forces and on what the immediate competition is doing. When Mauritius
practices price dumping because of their current over supply of beds vis
a vis airlines serving Mauritius, we feel the pressure and have all had
to readjust our own rates because of the pressure exerted by the Tour
Operators programming Seychelles. Supply and demand remains key to
yield, and Seychelles is still walking at the slowest pace in helping
increase the arrival numbers to help hotels increase their rates and in
so doing earn a better yield for themselves and for the country.

Marketing and strategizing about new drives
is one thing, but are we not too slow moving to provide what the market
is saying they want? A direct nonstop flight to Europe is needed, and
the authorities all know this, but are still not jumping with joy when a
savior comes our way. Where are we with the Turkish Airline interest to
nonstop fly from Europe to Seychelles? Discussions at the Seychelles
Economic Forum Turkey had indicated that this excellent airline wanted
seven flights a week to Seychelles. We need to know what has happened to
their request and interest.

Too often we hear of bilateral signed with
countries where we cannot see any direct benefits, but with Turkey we
are close to a year and we still have not heard a declaration.

We are soon to see Air Seychelles start their
operation to Hong Kong. A good decision for the airline, but is it what
the Seychelles Tourism Industry needs at this point in time? Air
Mauritius is doing direct Shanghai and also a second direct Beijing
Mauritius flight. They are going for the Chinese market, when we go for
the Hong Kong market, and ours via Abu Dhabi. Who will bear the cost of
marketing the Air Seychelles flights to Hong Kong via Abu Dhabi?

My personal comment for the Ministers of Air
Transport and of Tourism is that Air Seychelles is only 60% Seychellois,
our country's economy is 100% Seychellois. We can only hope that this
will guide decisions.

The annual Marketing Meeting was another
success with a joint approach between the private sector and the Tourism
Board. The absence of the Top Heads of the Air Seychelles Team was
noticeable by all.

The time has arrived for us as an Association
to be represented on the Planning Authority. We are making that request
to save our industry and Seychelles. We have lost all planning
foresight and today our continued development is hurting the look of our
country and the environment we are saying we are protecting. A few
weeks ago big equipment was excavating in the channel between Cerf
Island and Ile Cachee. This is a Marine Park we are told, but after
jetties we now see digging with heavy earth moving equipment. A
proliferation of containers, visible for all to see, is getting more
evident day by day. Implementation of regulations by Planning Authority
gives them a zero score…

The setting up of a more buoyant Marketing
Fund for the tourism industry is welcomed. It is a new tax, but one
where we are all paying to market our country. We hope more businesses
will be drafted to pay into that important fund. We need to see more
activities in Europe with that fund as that traditional market is the
market we know, and the market that knows us.

The annual carnival is upon us! We wish for
another successful edition. We appeal for us to also have the chance to
meet the large number of press landing here for the carnival.

I heard PP telling us we need to boost arrvial which means building more hotels.wE DONOT NEED MORE HOTELS pp,IN FACT WE NEED A MORATORUIM (1OYEARS)ON ALL FURTHER CONSTRUCTION OF HOTELS.oUR NATURAL RESOURCES IS ALREADY CONGESTED AS WELL AS OUR ENVIRONEMENT.What Pp should do instead is develop Night attraction for tourists.E.g On Praslin toursists go to bed at seven in the evning no because they are tired,sleepy or do not have money to spend but because we donot offer them Night attactions which is abig lost of revenues which could create new samll ,medium businesses ,job.

Morever,Waht the ogvernemnt should do instead of building new hotels ,is think of ways to develop an OFF_ SEASON toursm which will provide a longer season for the indsutry thna only four months a year which will be beneficil for both th industry and economy.For the long 6 8 months of low season is hard for the indsutry that opperate at about one quater occupancy.

Where to get the tourists during low-season-WEll from Australia/Neuseeland who at the same time have their holiday and winter.tHEY TRAVEL A L.OT (6.8 MUILLION ANNUALLY)--TO bALI,mALDIVES,s;AFRICA BUT NOT TO OUR SHORES BECUASE WE HAVE NOT EXPLOIT THIS POTENTIAL mARKET.

The arrival percentage wonot be that of the high season but that is good so, for it would allow both environemnt and host communities to recover from the high peak.

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Freedom Loving Seychellois Welcome note

VICTORIA, MAHE, SEYCHELLES

A group of Seychellois dedicated to real democracy for our beloved Seychelles. Our goal is to free our country from the grips of the SPPF-Parti Lepep Government led by Albert Rene and James Michel, the two traitors who stole our country's freedom on that darkest day in our history - 5th June 1977. We will not rest until true democracy and freedom are returned to our shores. We want our fellow citizens to share information pertaining to crime and corruption by the members of this Government, past and present. This is a forum to do so and let us bring these criminals to justice. Post with words and images and let us take our country back. As Seychellois, we can no longer sit idly by and watch the corrupt SPPF-Lepep and their foreign conspirators destroy our country while they fill their foreign bank accounts. It is time for change, and we will do it peacefully at the ballot box starting in 2011. May God bless Seychelles and all freedom loving Seychellois.